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5.8/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.8/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Workers' Topical News No. 1 remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you like looking at old ghosts, then yes. If you need a plot or characters with names, you are going to be bored out of your mind in about ten seconds.
History buffs will love it. People who want explosions or a three-act structure should probably go watch literally anything else.
It is barely a movie, honestly. It is more like a memory that someone forgot to delete.
The first thing you notice is the hats. Everyone is wearing a flat cap.
It’s like a sea of grey wool. I counted at least fifty before I got distracted by a guy in the front who looks like he hasn't slept since the war ended.
The camera is shaky. Not in that cool, intentional way modern directors do it, but in a "the cameraman is literally holding a heavy box and trying not to get shoved" way.
There is no sound, obviously. But you can almost hear the muttering.
You see their mouths moving and you know they aren't saying anything nice. They look cold, too.
London in the winter always looks wet in these old films. The ground at Tower Hill looks like it would ruin your shoes in five minutes.
There is a weird moment where a guy looks directly into the lens. He doesn't smile or wave like people do now when they see a camera.
He just stares. It feels a bit like he’s judging me for watching him from the future while I eat a snack.
The film is covered in these white scratches and black dots. It makes the whole thing feel fragile, like it might dissolve if you look at it too hard.
I’ve seen polished silent films like Nell Gwyn where everything looks like a stage play. This is the opposite of that.
This is raw and messy. It reminds me a bit of the vibe in Gow the Head Hunter, where the camera feels like an intruder in a place it shouldn't be.
The banners they are carrying are hard to read because the film is so grainy. But you get the point.
They want work. They want to eat. It’s simple and it’s heavy.
The clip ends so fast you almost feel cheated. One second they are marching, and the next, it's just blackness.
It leaves you with a strange feeling in your stomach. Not quite sadness, but something close to it.
I wonder what happened to the guy in the front row. He probably went home to a cold room and a small dinner.
Movies like The Breath of a Nation try to be big and important about society. This little newsreel doesn't try at all, which is why it works better.
It doesn't have a message. It just has people.
The way the light flickers makes everyone look like they are vibrating. It adds to the nervous energy of the crowd.
Sometimes the best way to understand the past isn't reading a long essay. It's just looking at a guy’s face for thirty seconds while he stands in the rain.
I watched it twice. It’s so short you kind of have to.
The second time, I noticed a police officer in the background just watching. He looks bored, which is a funny little detail.
It’s boring to him, but history to us. Funny how that works. 🤷♂️
Anyway, go find it on YouTube or an archive site. It’s worth the two minutes of your life.
Just don't expect a happy ending. Or any ending at all.
IMDb 5.6
1919
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